Hi there! My name is Ebby (which is short for "Ebony")
and I am the world's most wonderful black labrador retriever.
(Well that's what Janet tells me!)

Actually, I'm not full-blooded. My mom was, but if she even knows who my dad was she's not telling! Some of my litter mates were chocolate-colored and I have black spots on my tongue, so you can guess that there is variety in my ancestry. I am two and a half years old and a svelte 50 pounds. I have shorter-than-normal lab ears that just barely flop over and bounce when I run.

Janet used Richard A. Wolters' books Water Dog and Home Dog to train me. She thinks they gave her great advice because I learned very quickly (I'll let her think it was the books). I liked the method because Janet just gives me praise and never yells at me. Well . . . ummm . . . except those few times when she said I did something bad. I ask you . . . what is so bad about bringing in a dead blue-jay and laying it on the couch or eating the insulation off the air-conditioning wiring? Of course, I've made up for the bad stuff by being very cute (of course) and doing some really clever things.

One day, when I was little, I got one end of the toilet paper in my mouth and pulled it out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, all the way down the hall and into the den. That was really fun! It was even more fun to watch Janet roll it all back up again!

My favorite inside toys are Mr. Squeaky and String
I get somebody to throw them around and I (what else?) retrieve them. Sometimes I like to play hide-and-seek with them. I pretend that I'm a blood hound and sniff them out.

My favorite outside toy is my Tennis Ball I run and run and run and run and chase it and catch it and bring it back . . . and then we do it all again -- over and over and over -- as many times as I can convince someone to play!

My favorite treats are Milkbones and Ice cubes
Sometimes I get to eat them as reward for doing my tricks, sometimes just for being ME!



I'm told I have a very large vocabulary. Here are some of the words I know (and what they mean to me):

SIT -- Rest my rear end AND sweep the floor behind me with my wagging tail.
SHAKE -- Allow someone to hold my paw and admire my delicate bone structure.
DOWN -- Get down where I can more easily see which of my toys has rolled under the couch.
SLEEP -- The guys across the fence say its the same thing as "Play Dead."
PIROUETTE -- Run around as fast as I can in a counter-clockwise circle.
NO! -- Stop doing that really, really fun thing!
OUTSIDE -- Where all the really fun stuff happens.
BALL -- The best toy in the world.
B-A-L-L -- How to spell the best toy in the world.
WHO? -- As in "Who wants to go outside and play ball?"
PUT IT AWAY -- Janet is tired of throwing the tennis ball and wants to go back inside so I should drop the ball in the flower pot on the front porch.
GO GET THE PAPER -- Locate something that usually appears near the curb on Wednesday mornings and bring it to Janet.
HEEL -- Janet is walking too slowly to keep up with me.
WORK -- As in "Who wants to ride in the car?" (I get to stick my head out the window and feel the wind rush through my fur and have my ears flattened back and smell all those incredible smells and go to work with Janet where I can pirouette with other dancers and . . . ooooh . . . the possibilities are endless!)


This recipe for Peanut Carrot Cake (a delectable treat for dogs) comes highly recommended!


Ebby lived a long, wonderful life from November 11, 1994 to May 5, 2010.




Created by Ebby Last modified Tuesday, June 24, 1997